The Goji berry, or Fructus Lycii berry, sometimes even known as the wolfberry, is a simple dried berry that taste good and some say is good for you. I have usually bought the berries in dried form at Asian markets. The berry looks a bit like a raisin when you buy it this way, except it is a bit pointy on both ends.
I have eaten the dried berries as is right out of the bag, but they aren't really juicy like a raisin when eaten this way. They are dry. I like to prepare the goji berry in a goji tea. Eating right out of the bag can even seem a bit dusty or dirty depending on how your wolf berries were packaged.
Fructus Lycii is best for me in a tea. This is how I make the goji tea. If you are making goji tea, you may want to follow the directions below until you know how you like them.
I drink some of the berries with the tea, and anything left over at the bottom of the cup I just chew up when the goji tea water is gone.
It's an Asian thing. Anything more than that and someone is trying to sell you something. Yeah, sure, you could say that it's Himilayan and that the best Goji comes from naturally-grown land where yaks run free. I don't know.
I buy my Goji from Amazon if I haven't gotten to an Asian market. No matter where I get it, I usually can't read the writing on the package anyway. I'm sure there's more information available if you want to get pretentious about it, but I don't think it's worth it.
I can understand you feeling that way. I love this stuff, I really do, but I don't want this page to be a hype site like so many others. If any site or product uses the word Superfood or Superfruit, then they may be charging you too much for what would otherwise be a simple, healthy thing.
Really, that's what goji is to me. Simple and healthy. I knew a wonderful Chinese woman that had it every day. She washed the fructus lycii berries a bit, and then chewed up the remnants at the bottom of her cup. I worked with her and that's how I found out about wolfberries.
I am not advocating freaking out over the health benefits, but I can tell you how fructus lycii makes me feel.
I don't know of any specific dangers, but I can tell you that I have bought bad batches of wolfberries. These batches of goji tend to be lower priced, and they have a chemical smell to them. I think that some goji berries go through a drying process that leaves a bad after-taste.
Like anything, if I was new to goji berries, I would slowly introduce them in my diet and see how I react. I believe that fructus lycii fruit has helped me to be a healthier person. I will continue to eat them in the future.
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